TMJ is no laughing matter. It can get pretty serious if it is not tended to correctly.
If you are having TMJ issues, something is wrong. Popping pain killers or anything other than a true corrective measure is just suppressing the problem.
The TMJ is the joint that joins the jaw (mandibular) to the skull(temporal). tmj aka Temporal Mandibular joint. Between the jaw and skull is a disc that allows the jaw to pivot in that joint. If that disc gets out of alignment, it will prevent the tmj from functioning correctly. With the disc out of place, depending on how far out of alignment it is, it can cause mild discomfort due to the pressure of the disc being somewhere it shouldnt, all the way to the disc being so far out of line that it actually keeps the jaw from moving out of the joint, aka lock jaw. As soon as the disc gets anywhere out of place, it will cause tension in the jaw, and any friction caused in the TMJ from that disc being out of place can cause the disc and the tendon to become inflamed.. causing more pressure, discomfort and tension in teh jaw. It's a slippery slope.
If the TMJ is healthy, there should be no pressure and pain.
If you feel any sharp pain, there's either inflammation or the tendon is sore.
Please go have it looked at. Start with the dentist, because you need to make sure it's not something in your teeth causing tension and inflammation to spread to that region. Once the dentist rules that out, you are done with him, and you need to go to an Oral Surgeon who specializes in TMJ, because at thsi point, it isn't anything dental.
Your dental insurance won't cover anything beyond the original diagnoses. Unless a law in your state defines TMJ has a "health insurance" issue and not a dental one, you are probably out cold. Health insurance companies will try and say its a dental issue, and dental insurance companies will say its a health issue. Recently, in Missouri, legislation was passed labelling the issue as a Health Insurance issue, and health insurance providers have had to start honoring TMJ claims.
I had an issue which started as pains in the left side of my TMJ.. shortly there after, I started to feel a clicking sensation in the same spot. That was followed by a much more fierce clicking feeling, which was followed by an annoying and consistent click that was actually creating a hindrance on the opening of my jaw.
Eventually, one morning, I woke up, and my jaw was locked. It started locking up.
It wasn't until almost a year later of dealing with a locking jaw (go to where it locked 15-20 times a day), that missouri finally passed the legislation and I could get it covered. Until then, I couldnt afford the surgery. (which was about $4k)
THe problem was that the tendon holding the disc in place had weakened to a point that it couldnt hold the disc in place, and the disc was sliding forward and blocking the jaw movement. From popping the jaw back in place, I had chipped away at that disc over time and only had about 70% left. The surgery did several things. First, it cleaned out the entire area, removing chunks of cartilage, etc. It also soaked the area with anti inflamattories and antibiotics. then it pushed the disc back into place and soaked the tendon in steroids.
Woke up with my jaw instantly feeling better. It's been about 7 months, and I haven't had any problems sense. It's amazing how much better I feel having all of that stress removed from my face.